How to Play Sax In Tune

hey there in this video I'm going to show you the number one thing you could do to improve and develop your saxophone sound and as a bonus we're also going to learn how to play better in tune the exercise we're going to show you today comes directly from my core essentials program for saxophone fundamentals it's linked up on the screen and in the description below if you are already working on the core essentials program this video is gonna help you get more value out of that long tones exercise that you should be doing every day I start every practice session out by playing long tones with the tuner I'm using the tonal energy app which is an amazing tool for improving your intonation it's also a great metronome I also have my saxophone intonation chart where I can map out all the notes on my instrument to see which ones have a tendency to play out of tune and by how much if you want to copy of that chart there's a link in the description where you can get where you can download the PDF and print it out ok let's start out by playing a long tone on middle C and then we're gonna go down chromatically from there if you haven't done so already I highly recommend you watch my saxophone embouchure tutorial video it's linked up on the screen [Music] now you're gonna continue down dramatically for another five notes to and just make a mental note for now 50 notes are sharp or flat [Music] Hey after playing these six long tones you may want to adjust where your mouthpiece is on the neck cork okay if all the notes were sharp you're going to want to pull out a bit a few millimeters if all the notes were flat you're gonna want to push in a little bit and you're gonna go back and forth do this a few times with the tuner and try to find the spot where these six notes play the best in tune while using your best firm and relaxed embouchure we always want our out of two notes to be out of tune on the sharp side this way we only have one way to adjust which is down which simplifies things and also playing sharp is less harsh on the ears to the listener than playing flat once you're satisfied that you found the right placement for your mouthpiece on your neck cork make a little mark with a pen just to keep note of that for your next practice session that's that can change over time but it's good to have an idea of where you were last time once you've done that we're gonna play our long tones starting on middle C again and we're gonna play a long tone on every note going down chromatically until low B flat remember to keep the same firm and relaxed embouchure and with this little change from note to note all the way across the range of the instrument when you've done that go back to middle C and you're gonna play long tones on every note going up chromatically up until your highest note whatever that may be it could be pomp key F 4 F sharp if you have that I like to play up into the altissimo notes this way I get to practice those notes so I play all the way up until altissimo C now I like to start off with my middle C because that note I know I can play in tune with my ideal embouchure right off the bat [Music] as you get into the extreme upper and lower registers focus on keeping an embouchure consistent from one note to the next avoid biting dropping down low Frannie nope that is consistently out of tune marketing pencil on the chart with arrows if it's five to ten cents sharp since two arrows [Music] in five cents sharp if your saxophone is improvable you shouldn't be getting flat notes as long as you positioned your mouthpiece Korea don't worry if you'll playing much more out of tune then you're expected this is normal for saxophone players that haven't worked on intonation before just mark where each note lands on the shore and focus on playing with the consistent on the show many of you will probably notice that as you go higher on the saxophone you're you end up biting and ace you play lower you want the tendency to drop your jaw this is normal all saxophone players do this to some degree but what we really want to strive for is basically the same exact embouchure all the time over the entire range of the instrument now these adjustments of biting and dropping your jaw to get the extreme high and low notes out feel like they're helping you but in fact what they're doing is giving you less control and confidence when you play the saxophone by practicing long tones every day we're gonna develop a stronger embouchure and have more control so that we won't need to bite in the upper register and that's going to result in a much nicer sound and playing better in tune now no saxophone plays perfectly in tune you're gonna need to find the inconsistencies of your instrument and make a note of them that's what my intonation chart is for for the notes that play sharp we're gonna correct them by first making sure we're not biting and we're staying consistent with our firm and relaxed embouchure but then we're also going to relax our throats and open it up I have two notes on this saxophone that play consistently out of tune my e with the octave key and G in both octaves now by practicing the long tones every day with the tuner I have memorized my embouchure muscles have memorized the right position to play those notes in tune so the idea is when I land on those notes when I'm playing solos or melodies or whatever I know instinctively the adjustment to make to get those notes to playing soon now if you've got more than one saxophone like me on the chart I've got several columns so you can do the same thing with different instruments because each instrument is going to be slightly different of course every day you're going to want to do this long-term exercise with the met with the tuner out and your intonation chart and you'll see over time as the days go by your intonation is going to improve and maybe a note that was a three arrow will become a two arrow or a one arrow over time as you develop the consistency and strength in your embouchure it's good to mark everything in pencil on the chart because you'll probably be making some changes now the process of finding the exact right spot on your neck cork for your mouthpiece finding your ideal firm yet relaxed embouchure can take weeks or more of doing long tones every day and once you get to that point where you feel like oh my embouchure is good it's consistent the notes are coming out more or less in tune the work is not finished you have to practice long tones every day if you want to maintain a beautiful sound keep your embouchure strong and play in tune here's a few more tips to keep in mind while working on intonation listen to the sound of the notes you are about to play first and then use your ear to man the tonal energy app allows you to hear the notes played on any instrument while playing long tones you can use the camera function in the tonal energy app to monitor your embouchure using headphones player long tones while listening to the No and try to match the pitch tonal energy do this play long tones without looking too [Music] okay now go practice some long tones and let me know how well your sound improves by doing this exercise if you got some value out of this video please click the like button you can subscribe to my youtube channel with one click right here don't forget to go visit better sex comm to get your copy of the intonation chart PDF and if you have any questions or comments leave them in the comment section below and I'll try to answer everybody [Music]

Channel: Better Sax

Views: 87,838

Rating: 4.9669423 out of 5

Keywords: Intonation, better sax, saxophone lessons, how to play saxophone, learn sax, alto sax, tenor sax, how to play in tune, saxophone long tones, jay metcalf, core essentials, tonal energy, tuner app, how to practice with a tuner, how to play sax in tune, tonal energy app, how to play the saxophone, online sax lesson, out of tune sax, improve saxophone intonation

Id: P1RQi6YG1Xg

Length: 9min 35sec (575 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 23 2017